PETER’S UNDERGOES SANITIZING AS IT PREPARES TO RE-OPEN TO PUBLIC
The five photos below, courtesy of Vatican Media, show in part the cleaning process that is taking place in St. Peter’s Basilica. Similar cleanings and sanitizings will take place at St. Mary Major, St. John Lateran and St. Paul’s Outside the Walls as the four papal basilicas prepare to reopen to the faithful on Monday, May 18, with restrictions (numbers of people allowed in, masks mandatory, social distancing, etc and temperatures will be measured before allowing visitors in).
It is my understanding at the moment that larger churches like the papal basilicas can allow a maximum of 200 people in at a time and when liturgies once again take place outside, a maximum of 1000 people will be allowed….at least for the time being.
Monday, May 18 at 7am, as I have previously posted, Pope Francis will say Mass at the altar of the tomb of Saint John Paul (see photo) on what would have been the late Holy Father’s 100th birthday. That will be his last televised and online morning Mass following the months of Masses televised from the chapel at the Santa Marta residence.
(To be honest I have been in the basilica for early morning Mass and have seen cleaning going on – sans hazmat suits, etc – including a kind of Zamboni floor polisher). The Vatican also provided a video with Italian commentary.
Joan's Rome 